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Home , Battle of Plattsburgh, Burton Island State Park, Button Bay State Park, Kingsland Bay State Park, Lake Champlain, North Hero State Park

LAKE CHAMPLAIN BASIN PROGRAM

Fact Sheet Series Number 6

Boating to Champlain’s State Parks and Historic Villages

long the shores of in marinas and car-top and ramp boat launching , , and Québec, sites, as well as shore and beach access in A boaters in canoes, kayaks, sail, and campgrounds, fishing and wildlife sites, and motor craft have the opportunity to combine state and local parks. recreation on one of ’s largest and most beautiful with of Here are just a few of the highlights boaters the region's rich history and culture. can enjoy when visiting Lake Champlain’s state parks, historic villages, and historic sites. Lake Champlain’s diverse shoreline includes For more information on historic sites men- natural and man-made public access points for tioned in this publication, refer to Fact Sheet boaters at numerous villages. Facilities include Number 5: Historic Sites on Lake Champlain.

Gary Randorf

Lake Champlain – a Sailing Mecca City Excursions Canals

In addition to the smaller hamlets and villages along the The , running from Saint-Jean-sur- Lake, there are those that grew over time into cities. Richelieu to Chambly, allows boats to bypass the rapids These cities have rich histories which can be explored of the . For lock information call (450) through architecture and museums. 658-0681, or go to www.parcscanada.risq.qc.ca/canaux/ canal-de-chambly/en/. Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec was an important commercial center on the Richelieu River for more than The links Lake Champlain at 150 years; its history is evident in the many historic Whitehall with the at Waterford. For lock buildings. Features include: a towpath recreation trail and information call (518) 747-4613, www.canals.state.ny.us/. site of Fort Saint-Jean.

Plattsburgh, New York is the largest city on Lake Ferries Champlain’s New York shore and was the scene of the American victory over the British during the pivotal War Lake Champlain Transportation Company: of 1812 . Features include: the Kent- • Grand Isle, Vermont to Plattsburgh, New York Delord House Museum, Clinton County Historical Crossing time 12 minutes; year-round. Association, the Heritage River Walk Trail, the Champlain Monument, the MacDonough Monument, and a ferry to • Burlington, Vermont to Port Kent, New York Grand Isle, VT at Cumberland Head. Crossing time one hour; seasonal. • Charlotte, Vermont to Essex, New York Burlington, Vermont flourished in the early 1800s with Crossing time 20 minutes; seasonal. the opening of the Champlain and the Chambly For schedules and fees contact the Lake Champlain Canals. In the 1870s, Burlington was one of the largest Transportation Company, (802) 864-9804 or lumber ports in the ; the wealth from the www.ferries.com. lumber industry produced many of the mansions that line streets overlooking the lake in the Hill Section. Other Ferries: Features include: the Homestead, historic districts, and a ferry to Port Kent, NY. Shoreham, Vermont to , New York Continuous six-minute crossings. For information con- tact Shorewell Ferries, (802) 897-7999.

Kamp Kill Kare to Burton, Woods, and Knight Islands State Parks. Contact Vermont Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation, (802) 241-3655 or go to www.vtstateparks.com. Rentals and Excursions

Tour operators offer excursions and special-interest cruises; a variety of crafts are available for rental or charter from outfitters and marinas. See the Burlington Lake Champlain Underwater and Plattsburgh Area Yellow Pages or the Basin Book. The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum has a small boat Historic Preserve System livery where traditional regional wooden sailboats, rowboats, kayaks, and canoes can be rented. Lake Champlain’s history can be told by the many (802) 475-2022 or go to www.lcmm.org. shipwrecks on the lake bottom. Seven of these shipwrecks are part of a underwater preserve system. Dive sites in the Some of Vermont’s state parks have boats available for preserve system include the Champlain II, a steamboat rental. Consult Vermont State Parks, available through the that went aground near Westport; the Burlington Bay Vermont Department of Forest, Parks & Recreation, Horse Ferry, the world’s only known surviving horse- (802) 241-3655, (800) VERMONT, or powered ferry; and five others. For information contact www.vtstateparks.com. the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, (802) 475-2022, the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, (802) 828-3051, or the New York State Department of Environ- mental Conservation, (518) 897-1200. LCBP Mark Kurtz

3 LCBP 1 ECHO

VT FP&R

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2 5

Paddling Cycling

The Lake Champlain Paddlers’ Trail (LCPT) is a formal Lake Champlain Bikeways offers cyclists a network of designation of nearly 18 public sites accessible by paddlers interconnected, international bicycle routes around Lake in New York and Vermont. The LCPT encourages safe and Champlain in New York, Vermont, and the Upper responsible boating, stewardship of the Lake’s resources, Richelieu Valley of Québec. For more information contact and active volunteer involvement. Several of the state the Bicycling Information Clearinghouse, RR 1, Box 220, parks described in this publication are designated Paddlers’ Crown Point, NY 12928, [email protected], or go to Trail sites. For more information and to purchase a copy of www.lakeplacid.com/bikeways. a guidebook, call the Lake Champlain Committee at (802) 658-1414. Boaters’ Responsibilities

Lake Champlain weather can change very rapidly. Get charts, follow navigation rules and safety regulations required by the U.S. Coast Guard, Vermont , New York State Troopers, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Be sure to check customs and immigration regula- tions in advance to ensure easy border crossing. LCMM

LCBP Gary Randorf

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9 6 LCBP LCBP Fort Lennox

10 1. Champlain Memorial 2. 3. 4. Lake Champlain Ferry 5. Essex, NY 6. LC Maritime Museum 7. Divers in Burlington Harbor 8. Sailing the Western shoreline 9. Crown Point State Historic Site 7 10. Burlington Harbor 11. Fort Lennox 11

Stewardship State Parks North Hero Lake Champlain’s ecology is fragile. Boaters should respect the Lake, its shoreline, plants, and wildlife, and others who Alburg Dunes are enjoying it. Care should be taken along shorelines to Point au Roche Kamp Kill Kare avoid eroding the banks and crushing the vegetation. Much of the shoreline is private property. Respect land- Cumberland Bay Knight Island owners’ rights. Don’t pick plants and flowers. Place trash in Knight Point proper receptacles or carry it with you and use only desig- AuSable Point Woods Island nated toilet facilities or follow standard primitive disposal State Campground guidelines. Boaters should use pump-out stations. If you Burton Island find trash others have left behind, take it with you. Build fires only in designated areas. Sand Bar Grand Isle Crown Point State Campground Kingsland Bay Button Bay D.A.R. Knight Island State Park, once an island farm, the island Boating to State Parks offers scenic vistas across the Lake to the Green and . Boat access only. Call Burton State Parks in New York and Vermont give boaters special Island State Park at (802) 524-6353. opportunities to enjoy, the Lake’s distinctive natural and scenic attractions. Parks can be accessed by a variety of Knight Point, North Hero, features expansive lawns on watercraft. Some parks have moorings or ramps for the lakeshore and a reconstruction of Knight Tavern, docking; in others, boaters can land on a sandy beach or built in 1790. (802) 372-8389. rocky ledge. Facilities vary and range from primitive to developed areas that offer picnic sites, campgrounds, Woods Island State Park, St. Albans, is a quiet spot to hiking trails, and nature centers. study the natural habitat or walk along the unique gravel and shale shoreline. (802) 524-6353. New York State Parks and Campgrounds , St. Albans, highlights the Point au Roche State Park, Beekmantown, offers a remains of an early 20th century farm and other remind- mixture of natural and undeveloped forest areas, a sandy ers of the agricultural past. Access is by boat or ferry from beach and open land. A nature center with a variety of Kamp Kill Kare. (802) 524-6353. programs and nature trails educates visitors about habi- tats that range from forest to marsh to shoreline. (518) Kamp Kill Kare State Park, St. Albans, is a late 19th- 563-0369. century railroad resort hotel that now houses historic displays. A small ferry links this mainland park to Burton, Cumberland Bay State Park, Plattsburgh, is a large park Woods and Knight Island state parks. Wonderful views of located on a large peninsula just north of Plattsburgh. It the Lake and Adirondack Mountains are a major attrac- is a favorite of campers and paddlers who enjoy the tion. (802) 524-6021. expansive beach. (518) 563-5240. , North Hero, is a large, peaceful Valcour Island Primitive Area, Plattsburgh. In 1776, the park with trails through varied wildlife habitats, where island’s bay facing the mainland was the site of the first farmland is slowly returning to forest. (802) 372-8727. major naval battle of the Revolutionary War. Features include: one of the Lake’s 12 lighthouses and hiking trails Sand Bar State Park, Milton, in the marshland of the that pass marine fossils in 450 million-year-old limestone delta, is an expansive shallow warm beach deposits. (518) 897-1300. which makes it a favorite of wind surfers and paddlers. More than 150 nesting boxes scatter this area as part of AuSable Point State Campground, Peru, offers a pure an extensive wood duck nesting program underway since sand landing beach, as well as a four-mile paddle through 1948. There are many species of waterfowl and marsh the wildlife sanctuary on the which feeds birds and other viewable wildlife. (802) 893-2825. into Lake Champlain. (800) 456-2267. Grand Isle State Park, Grand Isle, has an original sum- Schuyler Island is a designated primitive area. Two mer resort building still used for park activities including primitive campsites are available for paddlers. interpretive programs. As the second largest campground (518) 897-1300. in the state park system, the park offers sweeping views of the . Boat access is limited to registered Crown Point State Campground, Crown Point, features campers only. (802) 372-4300. a memorial to . The stone structure was formed from the tower of a lighthouse and includes a , Ferrisburgh, has rare plants Rodin relief sculpture representing . and stands of sugar maple, hickory, and other hard- (518) 597-3603. woods. The site also includes the 1790 Hawley House. (802) 877-3445. Vermont State Parks , Ferrisburgh, is named for the Vermont State Parks are generally open mid-May through abundant button-like clay deposits found in the park, mid-October. Contact specific parks for specific dates. To offering an opportunity to learn about fossils of coral and make reservations, call the individual parks directly. To other marine animals that are visible in limestone bed- make reservations prior to opening call 1-800-VERMONT rock some 500 million years old. The park has good bird or (802) 241-3655. The Vermont State Parks web site watching, especially in spring and fall. (802) 475-2377. address is: www.vtstateparks.com. D.A.R. State Park, Addison, features the foundation of Alburg Dunes State Park, Alburg. Sand dunes create one the area’s first English settlement, dating from 1765. The of the longest beaches on Lake Champlain at this park. park adjoins John Strong Mansion. Boat access from Call: (802) 796-4170. nearby marina only. (802) 759-2354. 10 Crown Point was an important commercial center for Québec the iron ore industry in the mid-1800s. Features include: the Penfield Homestead Museum, the Ironville Historic 1 Chambly is the terminus of the Chambly Canal, which District, and Crown Point State Historic Site. takes boaters around the rapids of the Richelieu River. Features include: Fort Chambly, architecture from the 11 Ticonderoga, located between Lake Champlain and early 1800s, and a towpath recreation trail. , was an important portage point between the two lakes before the construction of the Champlain 2 Saint-Paul-de-l’Ile-aux-Noix Canal in 1823. Features include: the Ticonderoga Heri- Features include: Fort Lennox and Lacolle Blockhouse. tage Museum, the Hancock House, and a Fort Ticonderoga self-guided walking tour (PRIDE, (518) 585-6366). New York 12 Whitehall, at the headwaters of Lake Champlain along the Champlain Canal, was a key commercial port during 3 Rouses Point, a busy 19th century rail and water the 19th century and is known as the birthplace of the transportation center, was a key location for cross-border . Features include: the Skenesborough smuggling of liquor during Prohibition. Features include: Museum, Skene Manor, and the warship remains of post War of 1812 Fort Montgomery. Ticonderoga. 4 Chazy was once a bustling area with stage, water, and rail routes crossing here during the 19th century. Features Vermont include: the Alice T. Miner Collection, historic buildings dating from the early 1800s, and a library used as British 13 North Hero and South Hero are named in honor of headquarters during the War of 1812. Revolutionary War heroes Ethan and Ira Allen.

5 Port Kent was a popular resort area in the late 19th and 14 , source of the limestone used throughout early 20th centuries. Laid out in a grid pattern, Port Kent the Islands, is another picturesque place to spot fine overlooks Lake Champlain. Features include: a ferry buildings made of the local stone. Features include: connection to Burlington, VT. St. Anne’s Shrine and Fisk Quarry Preserve.

6 Willsboro is one of the oldest settlements in the area 15 St. Albans Bay was a busy shipping port until the and the only North American source of wollastonite, a prominence of the railroad led to the development of the mineral Native Americans used for pottery and now used commercial center inland at the City of St. Albans. for industrial and commercial purposes. Features include: Features include: numerous red brick buildings in the the Adsit Cabin, the 1812 Homestead, architecture that Greek Revival style and St. Albans Bay Park. reflects the ’s past as a center for stone quarrying, and blue limestone, quarried on Willsboro Point, that 16 Ferrisburgh is home to the Lake Champlain Maritime was used to build the Bridge. Museum which displays watercraft once used on the lake.

7 Essex, a bustling port in the early and mid-19th 17 Vergennes, one of the country’s smallest cities, has century, has one of the United States’ most outstanding many buildings dating from the 19th century when the collections of intact pre-Civil War architecture. The entire falls fueled local industry. The city was an village is designated as a National Register Historic important shipbuilding center during the War of 1812. District. Features include: Greystone Mansion, a ferry Features include: the historic downtown and the Bixby connection to Charlotte, and a self-guided walking tour Memorial Library which contains local history and (Essex Community Heritage Organization, shipbuilding industry collections. (518) 963-7088). 18 Addison features the John Strong Mansion and the 8 Westport, destroyed in the Revolutionary War after its Chimney Point State Historic Site. settlement in 1770, was rebuilt with elegant buildings. Westport has been a quiet and popular destination for 19 Larrabee’s Point in Shoreham once bustled with boaters and summer travelers since the early 1900s. activity as products and livestock were brought to market from the surrounding farmland. Features include tours on 9 Port Henry prospered as a town when high-grade iron the historic Carillon and a ferry to Fort Ticonderoga. ore from the region was made into horseshoes used during the Civil War and, later, tracks for the transconti- 20 Chipman Point in Orwell is home to two magnificent nental railroad. Features include: the Iron Center and stone warehouses remaining from a larger settlement that Railroad & Mining Heritage Park, a self-guided walking throve in the 1800s before the village center moved tour (Economic Development Zone Office, (518) 546- inland. 3606), and a boat access just northeast of town. Historic Villages and Cities

➛ Chambly 1 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu,➛ Québec Saint-Paul-de-l’Ile-aux-Noix 2

Canada

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ USA Rouses Point 3

13 Isle La Motte

Chazy 4

○ ○○ 14 North Hero and South Hero

15 St. Albans Bay

Plattsburgh, New York

Port Kent 5 Burlington, Vermont

Willsboro 6

Essex 7 16 Ferrisburgh

Westport 8 17 Vergennes

Port Henry 9 18 Addison Crown Point 10

19 Larrabee’s Point Ticonderoga 11 20 Chipman Point

Whitehall 12 Lake Champlain Paddlers’ Trail, 1998/99 Guidebook & Stew- For more information ardship Manual, for information about purchase, contact the Lake Champlain Committee, (802) 658-1414. Québec Lake Champlain Region Road Map and Recreation Guide — Tourisme Québec (800) 363-7777, Vermont, New York, Québec, 2nd edition 1998-2000, pub- www.tourisme.gouv.qc.ca lished by Northern Cartographic, available for purchase at area stores or call (802) 860-2886. New York McKibben, Alan and Susan, Cruising Guide to Lake Champlain; complete information on St. Lawrence River, Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau (518) 597-4646, Richelieu River, Chambly Canal, Lake Champlain, the www.lakeplacid.com Champlain Canal and Hudson River, from to New York Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preserva- . Available for purchase at area bookstores or tion (518) 474-0456, www.nysparks.state.ny.us call Lake Champlain Publishing, (802) 845-0028. New York Department of Environmental Conservation Vogel, R.W., Lake Champlain Atlas of Navigation Charts, (518) 897-1200, www.dec.state.ny.us 1999 edition. Detailed nautical charts with depths, moor- ings. Available for purchase at area bookstores. Plattsburgh- Chamber of Commerce (518) 563-1000, www.northcountrychamber.com Washington County Tourism Bureau (518) 746-2294 VT FP&R

The development of this fact sheet Vermont is through a cooperative agreement between NYS Office of Parks, Rec- Addison County Chamber of Commerce reation and Historic Preservation, NYS Department of Environmen- (802) 388-7951, www.middlebury-info.com tal Conservation, VT Division for Historic Preservation, and VT De- Lake Champlain Islands Chamber of Commerce partment of Forests, Parks and Rec- (802) 372-5683, www.champlainislands.com reation. Funding provided by the and the En- Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce vironmental Protection Agency through the Lake Champlain Ba- (802) 863-3489, www.vermont.org sin Program. Kingsland Bay State Park Rutland County Chamber of Commerce (802) 773-2747, www.rutlandvermont.com St. Albans Chamber of Commerce (802) 524-2444, www.stalbanschamber.com Vermont Department of Forest, Parks & Recreation (802) 241-3655, (800) VERMONT, www.vtstateparks.com Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing (800) VERMONT, www.travel-vermont.com he Lake Champlain Basin Program has Regional Tdeveloped a plan to insure that the Lake and its Lake Champlain Visitors Center Crown Point, NY will be restored, protected and main- (518) 597-4646, [email protected] tained so that future generations will enjoy its full benefits. If you would like to learn more about the Published resources available at area bookstores: program or get involved with associated projects, DeLorme, New York State Atlas and Gazetteer, topographic contact us at: (800) 468-LCBP (within New York and maps of the entire state, available for purchase in areas Vermont), (802) 372-3213, or visit our web site at stores. www.lcbp.org. DeLorme, Vermont Atlas and Gazetteer, topographic maps of LCBP Fact Sheet Series the entire state, available for purchase in area stores. Guide to the Marinas of Lake Champlain and the Champlain Number 1 – Zebra Mussels Canal, 1999; includes information on commercial facilities, Number 2 – Nonpoint Source Pollution the laws of the waterways of Vermont, New York, the U.S. Number 3 – The Basin Coast Guard, and . Call Morning Sun Productions, Number 4 – Wetlands in the Lake Champlain Basin (802) 863-4416. Number 5 – Historic Sites on Lake Champlain Lake Champlain Basin Atlas, 1999, published by the Lake Number 6 – Boating to Lake Champlain’s State Champlain Basin Program, (800) 468-LCBP. Parks and Historic Villages